Advances in wireless technology along with development of analog/digital electronics has lead to wide range of wireless/radio access technologies. Each radio access technology has a specific purpose, works on a particular frequency/frequency band and able to operate over input power dynamic range. Receivers of user equipment devices are generally made specific for each wireless technology. It is essential that user equipments support all radio access technologies based on need and availability. In some user equipments, multiple receivers are used for accessing multiple radio access technologies. This leads to heavier/ and more complex user equipment along with various interference issues.
Wireless communication systems like cognitive radio are working towards allowing the wide frequency spectrum to be shared thus enabling efficient radio spectrum utilization where in base station/access point and user equipments needs to be broadband and re-configurable in terms of frequency range of operation and input power.
For cognitive radios to succeed, it is essential that the receivers are capable of operating in a broader frequency range and over adequate input dynamic power range.